Riptide, Rings, and Fuzzy Dice
by Emily Timberlake
Summary: When I, along with my cousin, sister, Percy, and Annabeth get transported to Middle-Earth, we have to get back to the modern world and accompany Frodo to New Zealand to destroy the Ring. Based on a crazy dream that I had...
1. Chapter 1

Ok, yeah I know the characters are way OOC, but it was too tempting! Don't blame me! It was my conscience!

Riptide, Rings, and Fuzzy Dice

Chapter 1

Bright sunlight forced me to open my eyes. My blankets had been pushed off of me, so I went to pull them back over my head, but an unexpected view was waiting. I was lying in a field, my cousin, Sarah, and my sister, Audrey on the edge of a forest. I shook the two others awake and told them to follow me. I noticed we were wearing camisoles and jeans.

All of a sudden, a clear voice rang out through the forest. I started walking in the direction of the voice, and we came into a hidden grove, where a few people were standing, preparing to pack up a camp of some sort. I was confused until I saw their clothing. _Oh, great. We're in Middle-earth_, I thought. Don't get me wrong, I have wanted to visit Middle-Earth forever, but how was I going to explain my absence from school? When we stepped into the clearing, a woman standing near us said, "Oh, hello there. Who might you be?" I replied, "My name is Emily, this is my cousin, Sarah, and my sister Audrey," I said, gesturing to my companions. The woman led us to a small tent and opened the flap. Her hair fell away from her face, and I saw her ears were pointed.

"Arwen!" I shouted. The elf looked at me in surprise as I hugged her, along with Sarah. Arwen smiled and led us into a small tent. A guy that looked like he could be Percy Jackson, a girl with blonde hair and gray eyes, Legolas, and Aragorn were there. "Uhh, Percy?" I asked. "Yeah?" he replied looking up. "What the heck are you doing in Middle-Earth?" I asked him. "Well, I was at Annabeth's house, and we randomly blacked out. We woke up, and we were here," he said. Arwen ignored him and walked over to a chest and pulled out three tunics. I walked back outside and thought of every way I could to get us, along with the characters, back into the modern world. Suddenly, I heard a distant noise, similar to a highway. I grabbed a horse and rode in the direction of the sound before anyone could stop me. Soon enough, I came to a highway. I never thought I would be sad to see the modern world, but then I realized everyone had followed me, along with the Fellowship, which had appeared out of thin air.

We rode down the edge of the highway and accidentally caused a few accidents because of distracted people. Sarah was really pretty, wearing one of Arwen's riding outfits. Meanwhile, Audrey had really long, stringy hair, and her face was really oily looking. Legolas and Percy were riding next to us. Audrey asked Legolas which one of us he wanted and he replied, "Normally I like brunettes better, but I think I'm going with her this time." He said, pointing at me. I was rendered speechless. Percy was like, "Come on! You left me with a weird fangirl? You KNOW I have Annabeth!" It was really funny.  
Sarah got sort of pissed at me but then Legolas introduced her to his friend, Talfryn. They rode ahead all happy. We rode back to my apartment and I changed my clothes. (apparently Middle-Earth is three miles from my apartment.) Sarah, Audrey, Talfryn, Percy, Annabeth, Arwen, the Fellowship and I were hanging out. It was really funny because we were exchanging Facebooks. I got everyone's info and then they went to stay at a nearby hotel. Later that night, I got on Facebook and said hi to everyone. Legolas asked me if I would go out with him (yes!). Arwen, Annabeth, and Percy wanted both of us to go to China with them(?).


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_**One year later...**_

I went to bed after watching TV because I noticed it was 2:30 in the morning. I walked up to my room and put pajamas on, you know, normal routine. I climbed into bed and hadn't been there for more than 5 minutes when I felt someone sit on the on the edge of the bed. I opened my eyes and Legolas was sitting there. He was wearing jeans and a faded green t-shirt with Converse. "Hi. I couldn't sleep, so I came over here." Legolas said with a smile. "How did you get in?" I asked, somewhat surprised.

"Through the window." I looked outside. I didn't think that the dead gnarled oak branch would hold someone up, but I guess he's lighter than a normal human. I walked back over to my bed. He wasn't sitting up. Legolas was lying on the bed, eyes closed. I could barely suppress a laugh, but I didn't complain. I lay down and drew the sheets around me. I glanced over at Legolas. He hadn't moved, but his eyes were open. The second I moved closer to Legolas, I heard snickering from my closet.

"All right. Who's in there?" I ask, grabbing a hunting knife from next to my bed (huh? Well, I have one). I flicked the lights on and swung open the door. Arwen, Annabeth, Percy, Audrey, Talfryn, Sarah, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Aragorn were packed into the closet. I looked over at Legolas. He was still in the same position, only he was smiling. I pulled everyone out of the closet. They fell on the floor laughing hysterically. "Why are you guys in my closet?" I ask, bewildered. "We were going to tell you to get ready to go to China, but we decided to go to New Zealand instead," Arwen said.

"That doesn't explain how you got into my closet at 3:00 in the morning." I say, sort of confused. "Well, it's a funny story. You see, you weren't here when we got here a few hours ago, sooo, yeah. We hid." Percy said, in a secretive sort of way. "That still doesn't explain why you are in my closet!" I say impatiently. "We took a shortcut," Aragorn said with a smug expression. "I give up," I say, completely annoyed and exasperated. "No, I think they knew I was here, so they decided to spy on us." Legolas adds, making me even more confused. "What's going on?" I say. Everyone starts to laugh again.

"You don't know?" Arwen says in fake disbelief. "Legolas here-" Legolas' face grows bright red, "- told us he had something to ask you." Right then, I knew where this was going. "It's his choice." I say. Legolas stood up, glaring at the others. "Fine. We'll go downstairs." Aragorn said, understanding. He led everyone downstairs. "I think you already know what I was going to say." Legolas says, sitting back down. "I think I know... This isn't a joke, right? 'Cause if it is, whatever. If it isn't, then yes." I said, blushing.

Legolas smiled and walked over to me. He took my hand and said gently, "Why would I lie to you about this?" It was my turn to smile. Legolas kissed me. I dropped the knife I had been holding the whole time and wrapped my arms around him. I heard giggles coming from the closet. I broke away from Legolas' arms and said, "Can I borrow your bow for a second?" He smiled and handed it to me. I notched an arrow and drew the string back. "Who's in there?" I call. Legolas opened the door.

Merry, Aragorn, Pippin, and Gimli were clumped together around a small fire. Next to Gimli, a hole was noticeable. "You tunneled through the floor _and_ lit a fire? You know, there's some great new inventions called stairs and electricity," I say. Aragorn smiles and innocently says, "But this is way more fun." "I give up," I say, letting the arrow fly into the wall directly above Aragorn's head.

He ducks. "You missed," He says. "I wasn't trying to hit you. If I had wanted to, you would have three arrows through your head," I say in a somewhat menacing tone, "In other words, get out!" Gimli dives backs through the hole. Pippin and Merry try to follow him, but their legs are waving in the air. I start laughing in spite of myself. Aragorn is trying to pull them out while Gimli is trying to pull them in. It makes for a very comical scene. I start laughing. Merry and Pippin are yelling at Aragorn and Gimli to stop. Everyone else comes back upstairs. We finally pull out Merry, Pippin, and Gimli. Everyone is on the floor laughing.

I am completely wiped out. I lay down on my bed and tell everyone to shut up and leave. They grumble, but then Arwen says that it's time to go to New Zealand. It's now 6:00 in the morning. I go into my closet to see if I can find any clothes to pack. The bottoms of a few of my shirts are singed from the fire. I throw on a blue shirt over my camisole and go into the bathroom to put some jeans on and get ready. I look in the mirror.

My ears are ever so slightly pointed, unnoticeable, unless someone was looking for Elves. I didn't notice it before, but a silver leaf (like the cloak clasps) is suspended around my neck by a slim chain. I throw some clothes and toiletries into a backpack and am able to fit a bow and quiver in it (where did that come from?).

I throw on a white hooded sweatshirt with a hidden pocket. A small dagger goes into the pocket. I put some Converse on and go back into my room. An argument has started. Apparently, Aragorn is supposed to watch over Minas Tirith. I start yelling at everyone to shut up. I finally restore peace by standing on my bed and shooting arrows a few inches above their heads. That did it. "You all are in the year 2010. Minas Tirith is back in Middle-Earth, which is back through the portal in the woods." I said. "We're leaving now. Arwen, what time does the plane leave?" I ask, turning to her. She has changed from her dress to a red shirt and skinny jeans with sandals that she stole from my closet. I notice that everyone is in modern clothing with backpacks.

"Uh, in about an hour," she replies, checking her watch. I realize that it takes about half an hour to get to the airport. I look outside. A pickup truck is parked in the driveway. "Everyone follow me!" I led the strange party downstairs and out to the truck. Six people could fit in the seats, but a few would have to ride in the back of it. _Let's just hope no one pulls us over_, I think. I started to pull onto the highway when a broken down car starts drifting toward us. I look at who's driving. Eight Orcs were fighting over who gets to drive. They see us and start to veer toward us.

Gimli throws his axe towards the Orcs, almost pitching over the side of the truck bed. Legolas, Talfryn, and Aragorn stand up and fire arrows at the Orcs. Meanwhile, I'm trying to drive with four hobbits, Sarah, Percy, and Audrey piled up behind me. It can get very distracting, as I found out. We finally made it to the airport alive. I grabbed my backpack and went inside to get the tickets. Everyone else staggered in. I told them to go clean up and get out weapons licenses. "What? We have to have licenses for weapons? That's a crappy rule." Aragorn said. "Just look in your pockets. I handed them out a few days ago." Thank God everyone had theirs.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We boarded the plane. We took up four rows of seats. I sat between Legolas and Aragorn. Not fun sitting next to Aragorn (he smells a bit like tobacco). Aragorn kept making gay jokes about Legolas. I could tell Legolas was nearing the breaking point. I slapped Aragorn and told him to shut up. Sarah was making out with Talfryn while Audrey was grumbling next to her. Frodo and Sam were talking about some game they had played. Gimli was sitting next to Arwen, Merry, and Pippin. A flight attendant came down the aisle. I realized that she was Galadriel, only she had cut her hair so it brushed her shoulders (great. Let's hope she doesn't go into a trance again). Gimli just stared at her for a while.

It seemed like it took forever to get to New Zealand, maybe four days. The first night, I fell asleep on Legolas' shoulder. Aragorn, of course, had to say, "Awww. Look. The little lovebirds fell asleep." That woke me up. I took a small dagger (thank God no one else was awake) and pressed it to his throat. "Say anything else about us the rest of this trip and I swear I'll kill you." That somehow made me feel better. I sheathed the knife and went back to sleep. Legolas stroked my hand for what seemed like an eternity. The next morning, I woke up and looked around. Aragorn was snoring rather loudly. During the night, he had slumped over so that he was nearly completely on top of me. I shoved him off. He didn't wake up. How Arwen could love him, I'll never know.

Legolas was muttering something about a sword. He half fell over. Great. The second time I got squished in a minute. I had to shove him off, too. He woke up. "What's going on? Where are we?" he said, yawning. "We're going to New Zealand, remember?" I said in a sarcastic tone. "Ohhh. I thought we were going to China." He mumbled. I looked up at him. His hair was slightly tangled and his shirt was heavily rumpled, like an elephant had stomped on it repeatedly. Sarah and Audrey woke up and started poking me in the shoulder. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Audrey kept saying.

"Shut up," I said, standing up to go to the bathroom. Aragorn grabbed my leg and hugged it. "What the..." I said. Legolas poked him. Aragorn didn't wake up. "Idiot." I muttered, shaking him off of me. Aragorn mumbled something about Arwen. I walk to the bathroom. Finally. I brush my hair and teeth and change clothes. Not very easy to do in a bathroom the size of a postage stamp.

I step out, somewhat refreshed. I walked back to my seat and pulled out my iPod. A hand snatched one earbud out of my ear. I look to my right. Aragorn is sitting there, pretending to be asleep, with my other earbud stuck loosely in his ear. I grabbed it. He poked my arm, eyes still closed. We got into a slap fight. The whole time Aragorn was smiling and "asleep". Legolas started laughing, and then, of course, he got involved too. Great. My boyfriend, friend, and I are slap fighting each other on a plane on the way to New Zealand. That's gotta be interesting for the people sitting across the aisle.

Soon, I hear the hobbits wake up. I can tell by the sound of them arguing about fuzzy dice. (?) I look back towards them. All I can see are pink fuzzy dice, like the ones you hang in your car, being tossed around amidst a bunch of hands. I sigh and stand up. Arwen is already trying to sort out the problem. Hobbits are like little kids. They need to be watched all the time. Most of them are fine, but when Merry and Pippin are there, not good.

Apparently, Frodo and Sam were playing with the dice when Merry and Pippin took it. Go figure. I gave the dice back to Frodo and went to sit down. Aragorn said he wouldn't let me sit down without a kiss (eww! the idiot.). Legolas pushed Aragorn back into his seat and forced him to let me pass. I sat down and thanked Legolas with a kiss. Aragorn groaned. "Oh, shut up. You already have a girlfriend," I said, getting out my laptop.

Finally, we land. My legs hurt from sitting, but other than that I'm fine. Arwen, Sarah, Audrey, and Talfryn are trying to herd the hobbits and Gimli down the aisle. It's not going so well. Gimli is trying to hug the flight attendant version of Galadriel, while the hobbits are still fighting over the dice. Finally, we get off.

I buy everyone food at McDonald's. "You know, I'm on a diet," Talfryn and Legolas say. Also, it appears that everyone but Gimli, Sam, Frodo, and Aragorn are vegetarian (hmm. I'm not sure I like being vegetarian). They're pigging out on the hamburgers while everyone else is slowly eating some lembas bread.

"Well then. I think it's time we go to the lodge," Arwen says, picking up her backpack. "We get a lodge?" I ask, finishing my bread. "Yup. It overlooks a lake and a bunch of grassland," she adds, gathering everyone together with a help from Sarah, Audrey and I. We board a charter bus that is headed for the lodge.

The seats aren't buckled or anything, which allows the troublemakers to continue with pranks. The hobbits are settling down about the dice (finally). Arwen and Aragorn are arguing about something, I don't know what. Legolas seems like the only calm one. Audrey is annoying me again. I tell her to shut up and sit down. She actually listens to me for once. Sarah and Talfryn are making out again.

Legolas sits down next to me, slinging his backpack onto the floor. He is silent. Then I notice his face. His expression is somewhere between anger and sadness. "What's the matter?" I ask. "Aragorn won't stop with the jokes. I almost tried pulling my knives on him, but he's like a brother, so I couldn't." he replies, looking over at me. Arwen and Aragorn are sitting next to each other, not arguing anymore, but their expressions are tense. I ask Arwen to move for a second. She gladly moves and sits next to Legolas. They both have puzzled expressions on their faces.

Aragorn tries to put his arm around me when I sit down. I slap him and began talking. "Stop making jokes about Legolas. He's like your brother. If you do it again," I say, pressing the dagger to his throat, "I won't talk to you. I don't intend to back out on my promise." I feel good, but Aragorn looks slightly nervous. I give him a hug (which he seems to enjoy) and then sit back down next to Legolas.

He makes a face. "What?" I asked him. "You smell like Aragorn now," he replies. I sniff the sleeve of my sweatshirt. It absolutely reeks! What does Aragorn _do _all day?I bring some body mist out of my backpack and spray it on myself. It smells sort of like pine trees and floral stuff. Outside, green fields and grasslands whip by. Legolas apparently likes the smell of pine trees because he puts him arm around me and pulls me closer. I smile and close my eyes for a split second. I open them and look over at Aragorn and Arwen. Arwen's head is on Aragorn's shoulder while they hold hands.

I smile again and look up at Legolas. He is staring at me. I look into his blue eyes and completely lose myself. He kisses me as I wrap my arms around his neck. Audrey groans. "Am I the only one who's not kissing someone?" She says in a sarcastic tone. "Oi! We're single!" Pippin and Merry call out, completely drunk on soda. Audrey groans and rolls her eyes. I ignore them and kiss Legolas back.

I break away and turn on my laptop to finish part of a story I'm working on. Suddenly, the hobbits are peeking over the top of the seat, trying to see what I'm writing. Just to annoy them I type: HOBBITS ARE ANNOYING! They jump over the seat and onto my back. I barely have enough time to slip my laptop under my seat before I'm buried underneath a pile of halflings.

Sam and Frodo are trying to whack me on the head with the fuzzy dice. Merry and Pippin are throwing empty soda cans at me. Aragorn is laughing like crazy. Legolas is frantically trying to pull them off, but it's no use. It's like that for about 15 minutes before I finally throw them off. Arwen and Aragorn have their arms up, trying to catch the stumbling hobbits. They succeed with Frodo and Pippin, but Sam and Merry aren't so lucky. They crash into their seats.

When they sit up, they're slightly cross-eyed. I start laughing, along with everyone else on the bus. I notice that a girl is sitting in the back with Percy. I can't help but laugh. Apparently, Merry still hasn't gotten over the computer thing. Next thing I know, I'm on the floor with a crazed hobbit attempting to drag me by the legs. Legolas grabs my arms and tries to overpower Merry and Pippin. Aragorn grabs my waist (rather tightly) and tries to help Legolas. Either that or he just wants a hug without complaint. I feel like a piece of taffy being pulled every direction imaginable. Needless to say, not very fun.

At last, Aragorn and Legolas win. I crash into a heap of arms and legs. I finally stand up and look at my once white sweatshirt. It is now a smudgy gray, with soda flecks on the front. I take it off and put a clean one on. (yes! I remembered to pack it. I knew something like this would happen.) I go to the miniscule bathroom in the back. I look in the mirror. A red handprint is visible on my cheek, hobbit-sized. I quickly comb my hair and wash the soda off of my face and hands. I look much better. I walk back out and sit down. Frodo stands up to attack, but I yell, "No! I'm not doing that again!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After what seems like an eternity, we finally reach the lodge. (Yes! No more soda drunk hobbits whacking me with fuzzy dice!) We check into our rooms. The person at the desk said, "Well, we have 12 adults registered, but are those four children, or should we put them down as adults?" Frodo replies, "We're adults, thank you very much. We're just rather, short."

We're allowed three rooms. The hobbits and Gimli are in one room, then Sarah, Audrey, Talfryn, Annabeth, and Percy in the second room, and then Aragorn, Arwen, me, and Legolas in the third room. Joy. I have to listen to Aragorn's snoring all night. I kick off my shoes, take off my sweatshirt, and flop onto one of the beds, passed out from exhaustion. Of course, I wake up way too early. I groggily look at the clock and notice that it's 5:43 a.m. I feel something pressing lightly on my stomach. I look down and find Legolas using me as a pillow. His arms are wrapped securely around my waist and his head is turned toward me, eyes open. He is spread horizontally across the bed, bare feet dangling off the edge, snoring quietly. I stare at him for a while, not getting over the fact that I will wake up countless times like this. He blushes and flips over, lying in a somewhat normal position now.

I suppress a laugh as I look over at Aragorn and Arwen. Arwen is awake, in almost the same position, except Aragorn is nearly on top of her. She looks over at me and giggles quietly as she tries to shove Aragorn off of herself. Thank God Legolas is an elf and is not all the way on top of me. I am able to easily push him off. Arwen is still struggling. I walk over and grab Aragorn's legs. I drag him off and he falls to the floor. He wakes up and starts babbling incoherent nonsense and coughing with a sound like a cross between a lawnmower and sick duck. I told him to stop smoking, but it's obvious he didn't listen to me. Arwen is slapping him on the back as I walk out into the corridor, still smiling.

I quietly open the door to the second room. Audrey is sleeping on the floor, while Sarah and Talfryn are snuggled up next to each other, while Percy and Annabeth share the other bed. Sarah wakes up and glares at me. I back out of the room with a smirk. I hear noise coming from Gimli and the hobbits' room. I open the door and my jaw drops. The four hobbits are dancing on top of Gimli, holding Mountain Dew cans and trying to wake him up. Typical morning. I sigh and pry the soda cans from them. I quickly store them in the small refrigerator and then go on a hobbit hunt.

The little rascals have hid around the room, probably afraid I would get mad or something. Frodo is behind the door, while Merry and Pippin are beneath the two beds. I open the closet to reveal Sam nibbling on lembas with seven empty soda cans next to him. His eyes are completely dilated from the caffeine. I remember Gimli. Legolas rushes in, dressed in jeans and a shirt that looks like it has been sitting crumpled in a hamper for weeks. He rolls Gimli over to see if he is okay. He is snoring as peacefully as if nothing had ever happened. Legolas and I start to laugh. The hobbits are trying to sneak out of the door without us noticing. "You're not getting off that easily," I say, grabbing Merry by the back of his shirt. He gets loose as Pippin, Frodo, and Sam dart down the hallway in the wrong direction and smash through the intricate glass doors at the other end.

Great. Now we have to pay hundreds of dollars to replace the doors and countless other things in the lobby. I sigh and start running, Legolas behind me and Aragorn and Arwen trying to catch up. I gingerly step over the glass shards and into the lobby. Luckily, they haven't broken anything in there. Legolas quietly sneaks up behind Merry and Pippin and grabs them by the wrist, dangling them a few inches in the air. Arwen and Aragorn catch Frodo and Sam and carry all four of them back to the corridor.

Legolas and I remain, apologizing to the clerk. The clerk is very polite and says he won't report the incident. I smile with relief and thank him as I walk back into the corridor to give the hobbits a scolding. Legolas rests his arm on my waist as we walk. When I get back to the hobbits' room, Gimli is awake. The hobbits are surprisingly calm after about fourteen cans of soda each. Gimli is sitting on his bed, fully dressed (thank God) and sharpening his axe. Now I know why the hobbits are so quiet. "Gimli, put the axe away," I say, grabbing it out of his hands. The hobbits relax. I hand the axe to Legolas. I give the hobbits a fair scolding and walk back into the room I share with the others. Legolas tosses the axe back to Gimli and follows.

"Well, that was a bit… umm…" I say, breaking off into silence. "Expected?" offers Arwen, smiling as she thinks about the hobbits crashing through the door. "Uh, sure, let's go with that," I reply, shrugging. I look outside through the window. Shafts of amber light reach out over the horizon, tingeing the clouds pink and gold against a pale blue sky. The lake shimmers as the wind sweeps across the surface. "Guys, I know exactly what we can do," I say, gathering some clean clothes to change into. I take a shower and pull on some jeans, a gray shirt with a silver and blue rose on the side, and a clean white sweatshirt. I look in the mirror. My skin and hair look like it's faintly glowing in the sunlight that streams through the window.

I walked back out and began emptying my backpack. "What are you doing?" Legolas asked, handing me water bottles and lembas bread. I carefully placed them in the backpack and said, "I'm thinking it would be fun to go for a hike. See that everyone's prepared and ready to go down to breakfast in half an hour," I replied, slinging my backpack over one shoulder.

Legolas raised one eyebrow but did as I asked. Aragorn and Arwen helped, too. After half an hour, I went to check on everyone. They were dressed and set to go. I suppressed a sigh of relief as I checked on the hobbits and Gimli. Legolas was lining them up and half leading, half herding them out the door. Gimli was helping, somewhat. I walked into the other room where everyone else was staying.

Audrey was still asleep on the floor, while Sarah, along with the rest of the group, was dressed and ready. I walked over to Audrey and pulled the blankets off of her (the usual wake up call). She groaned and rolled over. With some help from Annabeth, I hauled her up until she was standing. I marched her into the bathroom and made her take a shower and brush her hair. I handed her a shirt and jeans and within minutes, she came out, tired but ready.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Everyone stumbled downstairs to the lodge's restaurant. Almost every person except us had an accent. The hobbits were trying to copy it but failed miserably. I grabbed some fruit and a small piece of lembas and sat down next to Sarah and Audrey. Audrey was looking much better, with clear skin and a friendly attitude. Sarah was rather quiet, but the second Talfryn sat down next to her, she smiled. The hobbits sat down, their plates loaded with donuts and waffles and other sugary foods (great). They were each balancing two cans of Mountain Dew on top of the plates (even better).

All of us stifled groans. I stood up, pretending to get more food. I walked silently behind the hobbits and snatched the soda away from them. They were too busy eating to notice. I dumped the soda into an empty pitcher waiting to go back into the kitchen. I refilled the cans with carbonated water out of a different pitcher. I placed the cans back in front of them. They each picked up the cans and started to drink. I was mildly surprised when they didn't notice the difference. I hid a smirk as everyone cleared their plates and stood up to go. I led the group out of the lodge and down to the edge of the water. I made sure everyone was with us.

I set off at a slow pace, allowing the hobbits to walk normally. When the midmorning sun shone down on us, I halted at the top of a grassy ridge. The hobbits and Gimli were fighting to keep up. Frodo nearly collapsed when he reached me, so I picked him up and carried him on my shoulders. He strapped himself to my backpack and buried his face in my hair. Legolas, Percy, and Sarah did the same with Sam, Merry and Pippin. Aragorn attempted to help Gimli, and he almost got a finger taken off by Gimli's axe. "Nobody carries a dwarf," Gimli said roughly. We all suppressed a laugh. I felt Frodo's weight shift. His head slumped onto my shoulder. "Great. He fell asleep," I sighed to myself, although Legolas, (curse those elf ears) picked it up.

Being ever helpful, he offered to carry Frodo as well as Sam. "If I can lift you off of me, I think I can carry a hobbit and some lembas," I replied, glaring at him. "Sorry," He replied. I looked over my shoulder at him. He was looking down at his feet, and he looked sort of upset. I fell into step with him. I let go of Frodo. Luckily he was awake, so at the last moment he grabbed onto a backpack strap. He was dangling from it. Legolas looked at him and started laughing. "Geez! You could have woken me up a bit more nicely!" Frodo said in an irritated tone. "Hold on and you won't fall," I said. Legolas let go of Sam. He was awake, so he didn't end up like Frodo, swinging like a monkey from his backpack.

I slipped my fingers into Legolas' hand. He looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and looked up ahead. A small black dot was visible on the slope of the next hill. I thought it was just a trick of the light, but the dot grew, until it could be recognized as a person. I pulled my knife from my belt, grimacing. I was hoping we could have a peaceful morning with no fighting.

The person came closer, until I could see his features. He looked sort of like Legolas, only he was more tan, had the beginnings of a mustache, and his short dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He was wearing a black and purple plaid shirt over a white one, and had faded jeans and Converse. "Hello there, mate! Do you happen to know where I am?" the man said. "I was just walking around and I thought you might be able to help me."

"Well, you are in New Zealand. These are my friends, Legolas, Aragorn, Sarah, Audrey, Arwen, Annabeth, Percy, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, and Talfryn." I said, gesturing to each one of them. The man looked slightly confused when he looked at Legolas. "You look like a brother of mine," the man said. "Oh, I believe I forgot to introduce myself. My name is William Turner." **(a/n: yup, I'm including POTC)** He said. "Well, this is getting weird. Why don't you walk with us?" I offered. "Sure," Will said with a wink. Legolas grabbed my hand again. Will shrugged and moved next to Audrey. The two were chatting away as we headed down the path. No wonder Will was interested in Audrey. She looked slightly like Elizabeth, only with darker hair and green eyes.


End file.
